Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, its characters, or its content. I am not and do not intend to make any sort of profit off this story.

Chapter Two: Shortage

The elite trine returned to the Nemesis after a brief flight, a bit fatigued, but feeling better than they had in quite some time. Energon was, unfortunately, in short supply nowadays with the war raging. After a semi-successful raid, Starscream had brought his trine out for a flight. As tired as the fliers were, the three of them would slowly go insane being grounded for too long. He was typically able to horde away a supply for the trio for a week at a time, but not without consequences. This allowed them to fly at least once a week, even though seekers should take to the sky at least once every other day. If his actions were found out, he got his aft handed to him and ended up in the medbay for days at a time, sometimes more than a week. In some cases, he had to bribe other mechs to keep their vocalizers quiet about it. He hated some of the things he was forced to do, but it was better than him or his trine starving.

Watching Thundercracker and Skywarp walk down the corridors in the direction of their quarters a bit more slowly than usual, Starscream let out a sigh. As power hungry and arrogant as he was, he still cared about his trinemates. Even if he was unable to show it, he worried for their safety, and right now, their general wellbeing. Their moods had improved significantly after the flight, as all fliers were grounded for a while due to the energon shortage, but they showed signs of exhaustion with every step they took, every maneuver they made. Thundercracker was a bit better at hiding it, but Skywarp was noticeably affected, and now Megatron was starting to take notice as well.

Starscream was worn out as well, but he was trying to pull himself together as best he could. He shouldered some of the blows meant for his trinemates; they shouldn't all have to pay for the mistakes Megatron himself had made. It was times like today that the red seeker seriously doubted his decision to join the Decepticon cause in the first place. After the destruction of their beloved city-state, Vos, it seemed the most logical action. Sentinel Prime had grounded all fliers. Because of this, more seekers and shuttles joined Megatron's cause to fight for the freedom they deserved; the right to fly and live undisturbed or restricted. It then took a turn for the worst. Sentinel, seeing the rising number of fliers join the ranks of the Decepticons, ordered Vos to be senseless attacked. It was an order that resulted in the destruction of the city-state and the loss of many fliers. Mechs, femmes, and even sparklings were offlined in the battle. Far too many were defenseless; simply citizens trying to flee the assault and protect their loved ones from the carnage. Starscream was young, but old enough to remember the cries of the innocent fliers being slaughtered around and below him. It was a major turning point in his life; he went from being a peaceful scientist with the desire to create, to a vengeful soldier overnight with the need to make the ones responsible pay for what they had done. Skywarp and Thundercracker both followed his lead without question. Thundercracker followed out of his own reasons, whatever they were. Skywarp followed wordlessly because he was too young to do otherwise and was left with no one else to turn to after the fall of Vos.

Starscream almost dragged his feet back to his quarters in hopes of getting much needed recharge. Almost. He still had pride enough to stand as tall as he could as he walked through the halls of the Nemesis.

While everyone else had drifted off to sleep, Thundercracker lay awake, wrapped up in his thoughts. He glanced over to the second berth in the room, occupied by Skywarp, who was deep in recharge. The purple and black seeker had all but begged him to allow him to share his quarters. Normally, Thundercracker would've told him to frag off and stop being ridiculous, but something in the younger jet's tone made him reconsider. Shortly after merging the two rooms into one, he found out about his trinemate's night terrors. They had calmed considerably after being in close proximity to his blue trinemate, but 'Warp still suffered from bad memory replays. Whatever he had gone through on Cybertron was enough to scar him permanently. Watching him as he slept made the older of the two's spark ache. Skywarp was much younger than he and Starscream. He deserved to experience life during a peaceful time, not in the middle of a fragging war with no end in sight.

Energon reserves were a bit better this week after a successful raid, but they were still low. It was an act of Primus itself that they were able to make off with as much as they did without Autobot interference. Once said faction showed up though, the tides changed and the Decepticons found themselves fleeing once again. Hook was treating a few minor injuries at first from the battle, but later found himself burdened with a couple of mechs that were damaged badly, not from battle, but from Megatron's rage at losing once again. Thundercracker sighed and shifted a bit. What kind of leader beat his own soldiers? What kind of mech spilled the precious energon of others when it was in such short supply as it was? Most of the mechs on the base were only fueled to 80% at most. Their alloys had grown weaker over time. Running on less energon meant they had to save what little energy they had. Many chose not to come out of their quarters unless they had a work shift that cycle. For the fliers, it was worse. Less fuel meant less time in the air. Seekers had to fly to maintain their sanity and well being. It was in their coding to do so. Being grounded for extended amounts of time was detrimental to their mental and physical health.

There had been a brief period of relief today though. Flying over the mountains and wooded areas Starscream had taken them to had been a welcome escape to the daily grind they had to put up with. Despite the annoyance his trine leader generally caused, Thundercracker was grateful to him for thinking of their well being. It seemed that the red seeker was becoming more and more conscious of the state of their health and present position. The problem wasn't realizing what kind of mess they were in; it had dawned on all three of them some time ago. It was how to get out of it that was the real problem. If they simply left, they'd be marked as deserters and hunted by the Decepticons until they were terminated. Along with desertion, they'd have to come up with a source of fuel. Energon was already difficult to come by and would only be more difficult to obtain on their own with so few of them. Joining the opposing faction was an option, but it was one they were all unsure of. No one really knew what kind of leader their Prime was and they didn't know if it'd be better there on the Ark, or worse. And even if they defected, there was no guarantee the Autobots would even accept them. Their fear and apprehension had forced the fliers to stay on the Nemesis with the rest of the Decepticons. Thundercracker hoped that they could find a way out of this mess, and soon. He was sure that if the three of them stayed here, it would be the death of them. He gave one last glance to Skywarp, who was thankfully recharging peacefully at the moment, before offlining his optics for the night.